1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data backup systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing access to backup data on an archival storage system through media servers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems and their components are subject to various failures that may result in the loss of data. For example, a storage device used in or by the computer system may experience a failure (e.g., mechanical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) that may make any data stored on the device unreadable. To mitigate the risk of losing data, a computer system may include backup software for making backup copies of data stored on various storage devices. Some types of backup involve backing up data from a source system to a remote storage server over a network. The data may be backed up initially to disk-based storage and then migrated to an archival storage, such as tape-based storage.
The server(s) that perform the backup operations to write backup data to storage can subsequently be used to perform various read operations to read backup data from the storage. Read operations include restoration of the backup data, duplication of the backup data, and the like. When a read operation is requested, the backup system can select the same server that performed the initial backup operation to perform the read operation. However, there are several problems with such an approach. For example, if that server happens to be unavailable (e.g., due to server failure, network problems, etc), the read operation will fail. In some cases, the selected server may be overloaded with backup and/or read operations, whereas other servers may be under-utilized.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for managing access to backup data on an archival storage system through media servers that overcome the aforementioned disadvantages.